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Rows of cranes line the container terminals in Kwai Tsing, Hong Kong.

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Ashley D. Torres

Reporter - South Florida Business Journal

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As business leaders try to increase trade and economic ties between Miami and Asia, it’s not surprising that PortMiami PortMiamiLatest from The Business JournalsPort dredging is a hot topic in D.C.PortMiami still expects timely completion of dredgingDisney Wonder is latest coup for PortMiamiFollow this company Director Bill Johnson this week went to meet with seaport and tourism officials in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

He said they will discuss trade partnerships, infrastructure and cruise operations, among other topics. Johnson also plans to meet with officials from China Shipping and the company manufacturing four post-Panamax gantry cranes totaling $40 million for the port, he said.

PortMiami is a sister port to the Port of Shanghai, and was set to sign a sister port agreement with the Port of Kaohsiung in Taiwan on Feb. 17.

Johnson’s trip follows the Feb. 9 visit of Donald Tong, Hong Kong trade and economic affairs commissioner, who held a reception for business leaders in Miami.

“What we like to do is to reinforce the trade and economic ties between Miami and Hong Kong,” he said, since both cities are gateways: Miami to Latin America and Hong Kong to Asia.

Charlotte Gallogly, president of the World Trade Center Miami World Trade Center MiamiLatest from The Business JournalsHow do you want Miami-Dade to develop?International trade engines rev up at South Florida’s portsLighting the way to business successFollow this company , met with Tong to discuss a Hong Kong logistics mission, possibly in 2013, to acquaint the trade community with opportunities in Miami, she said.

“We do see the prospect of Miami as a hub for Latin America, and this is the key message that I’m bringing back to Hong Kong colleagues,” Tong said.

In 2011, the Miami Customs District, which stretches from the Florida Keys to Port St. Lucie, exported $447 million in commodities to Hong Kong, up from $277 million in 2010, according to WorldCity’s analysis of U.S. Census Bureau U.S. Census BureauLatest from The Business JournalsPortland family poverty rate at 8.3%More than 14% of Memphis families live in povertyFewer Jacksonville families below poverty level than national averageFollow this company data. Hong Kong imports declined to $124.5 million from $132 million in 2010.

Nonetheless, trade between the regions is growing. In December, Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. expanded cargo flights to Miami International Airport Miami International AirportLatest from The Business JournalsVilla Enterprises brings a bit of South Philly to South Florida Dolara retiring as AA's leader in MiamiMiami's airport growing fastest among U.S. top 20Follow this company to about six weekly flights from three.